1. Field of the Invention
This application has been filed under 37 CFR 1.47(a) which status continues.
This invention relates to a device for converting an electrical image signal into a light image signal to be applied to an imaging surface, and, in particular, to an optical writing device including an array of light emitting elements for optically writing an image on an imaging surface on the basis of an electrical image signal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various optical writing devices are known in the art. Typically, an optical writing device is used in a recording machine such as a printer, copier and facsimile machine. Some optical writing devices use a laser or optical fiber tubes, in which a light beam or dot is scanned along a horizontal line sector in forming an image on an imaging surface. In this case, however, the optical writing device tends to be bulky. Some optical writing devices use an array of light emitting diodes or liquid crystal elements, in which a plurality of light emitting elements are arranged in the form of an array and they are selectively activated in accordance with an electrical image signal supplied thereto. Such optical writing devices are relatively smaller in size as compared with the former type, but they tend to be complicated in structure and expensive to make.